2003 EU budget provides for administrative preparations for enlargement

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Sunday 27 May 2012

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NEWS
EU-Argentina disputes escalate

The European Union filed a suit against Argentina's import restrictions with the World Trade Organization (WTO) today (25 May), intensifying the disputes between the South American nation and its trading partners.

News | MEPs blast Switzerland over workers quota, taxi restrictions
News | Europe’s airline CEOs blast “crazy” carbon pricing scheme
News | Ukraine asks EU to be patient for Tymoshenko solution
News | Parliament backs resource-efficiency roadmap
News | MEPs want stronger consumer rules for seniors, children
Hot topics
SPECIAL REPORTS
Special Reports
LINKSDOSSIERS

REACH chemical safety review: Re-opening a can of worms?
Five years after its adoption, the European Commission is preparing to review the controversial REACH regulation, which for the first time required chemical manufacturers to justify that their products are safe for consumers before placing them on the market.

LinksDossier | Cutting energy use in Europe's old building stock: Mission impossible?
LinksDossier | Visa-free travel for the EU's East: The next frontier
LinksDossier | Austerity: Healthcare in hardship
LinksDossier | Cloud computing: A legal maze for Europe
LinksDossier | Digital agenda: Connecting the EU
INTERVIEWS

EUrid: Being green pays off in increased competitiveness

It is not by making new regulations that policy-makers will force ICT companies to reduce their carbon footprint, but rather pushing member states to implement existing rules and convincing companies that they gain in competitiveness, argues Marc Van Wesemael, EURid CEO, in an interview with EurActiv.

Interview | Packaging boss: 'Paper for recycling is short in Europe'
Interview | Foreign Minister: 'Lithuania could adopt the euro after some time'
Interview | Internet guru warns users to play safe
Interview | Industry chief: Pricing, policies should promote water efficiency
Interview | Seeber MEP: Improve water efficiency without price spikes
OPINIONS

Greece's choice: a hard landing or a crash

Even though austerity depresses economic output, the Adjustment Programme is not the root of Greece's woes, argues Nikos Chrysoloras, a Brussels-based correspondent for Kathimerini, Greece’s leading newspaper and a Robert Bosch Stiftung “EU Journalism Fellow” for 2012, on a journalism practice with EurActiv.com. The op-ed was first published on the Euro Crisis blog.

Opinion | Energy efficiency: a clear path to a green future
Opinion | Europe Needs a Real Growth Agenda
Opinion | Energy savings: The stimulus Europe needs
Opinion | The water crisis is now
Opinion | François Hollande will lead Europe into a new era
BLOGS

Another monopoly of “Gazprom” level will appear in the RF
Upon the initiative of the President of the RF V.Putin and signature of the Prime-minister D.Medvedev, one of the greatest energy companies “Ros..

Blog | The safety of patients: what role for the EU?
Blog | Why Green Week is no longer Green
Blog | Euro-Bond
Blog | The impasse continues whilst the UK gets stuck in
Blog | The day of Cyril and Methodius
VIDEOS

Background:

On 19 December the European Parliament adopted an EU budget of nearly 100 billion euro for 2003. The expenditure will amount to an increase of only 0.26 per cent over the 2002 budget, representing 1.02 per cent of the Community Gross National Income (GNI), the lowest GNI percentage since a decade.

As an important political and administrative priority, the 2003 EU budget caters for the institutional preparations for enlargement. In order to ensure that the Community acquis is applied in the new member states, the Commission is to receive 500 and the Council 236 additional posts next year. Since the new members will bring in 9 new languages, a large part of these additional posts will go to the linguistic services.

The 2003 EU budget supports political priorities in the field of stability and security, such as the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Hercegovina from 1 January, high-profile EU operations in the Balkan region, as well as commitments towards reconstruction in Afghanistan.

The largest share of EU spending in 2003 will continue to be used up by the Common Agricultural Policy, followed by support for structural projects, such as infrastructure building.